Remote controls have been designed for a variety of purposes, such as televisions, garage door openers, and even beds. In addition, various electrical devices have been designed for intrabody implantation, such as insulin pumps. Some of these devices, like pacemakers, emit electrical charges to the body. However, pacemakers are designed to apply periodic electrical charges according to a predetermined schedule, such as one discharge per second, in order to stimulate cardiac tissue. Those skilled in the art are also aware of defibrillators which are activated by a person other than the human to which they are applied. However, defibrillators require direct contact by an operator in immediate proximity to the person to which they are applied, and also require careful placement on the appropriate parts of the chest. Hence, defibrillators are not conducive to remote control operation by another person.
The need to incapacitate the vocal capacity of persons is well documented but has heretofore not been capable of a sound solution. Persons in need of the application of such a function include mentally impaired persons who are sometimes inclined to make sudden, loud and disruptive utterances. Also, Tourette's syndrome is a common childhood-onset condition. It can be associated with features of many other conditions. Tourette's syndrome is a neurological or neurochemical disorder characterized by tics. These tics are involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalization that occurs repeatedly in the same way. Symptoms of Tourette's syndrome include multiple motor and one or more vocal tics present at some time during the disorder. More severe cases can inhibit or prevent the individual from engaging in common activities. In addition, the occasional sibling could benefit from temporary devocalization in order in enhance peace and tranquility among family members and others in their presence.
Various techniques for disabling the voice of a person are also known in the art. For example, gagging or chocking a person can temporarily disable a person's vocal faculties, but such methods are undesirable as they can be violent or lead to inadvertent or intentional injury. Another technique is surgical removal of the vocal cords, but such a technique is permanent and is therefore suboptimal. While loud music or other sounds could be played in order to drown out the undesired words or sounds of a person, this solution has the disadvantage of being too loud.
It is also known in the art to limit perception of the vocalizations of others via electronic equipment such as noise-canceling headphones. However, noise canceling headphones must be individually worn by each person within hearing range of the person whose voice it is desired not to hear, which can significantly increase the cost of this solution. In addition, noise canceling headphones do not operate to limit the vocalizations at their source, which is an important design constraint in the present field of art.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and method for temporarily disabling the vocal capacity of a person that is non-violent and which can be actuated upon demand by another person. It is also desirable to provide a system in which such result may be accomplished when not in immediate physical proximity to the persons whose voice is to be disabled so as to minimize the success of any retaliatory violence.